*
Kimberly-Clark Professional* Education
Eye Protection
General Product Guide
Kim MacDougall
Research Scientist
Kimberly-Clark Safety Division
Roswell, Georgia
March 2007
SAFE AND HEALTHFUL WORKING
ENVIRONMENTS
OSHA:
OSHA develops its own standards but also heavily relies on those established by
the American National Standards Institute (“ANSI”) and the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”). In addition, the Canadian Standards
Association develops standards to enhance public safety and health. For additional
information, visit the following websites:
www.osha.gov
www.ansi.org
www.cdc.gov/niosh/homepage.html
www.csa.ca
OSHA standard 29 CFR Part 1910 (sections 132-138) sets the standard for
Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”). Subpart I of the standard establishes
criteria that require employers to provide hand protection to employees if
required while on the job. The standard can be paraphrased as follows:
a) General Requirements: Employers shall select and require employees
to use appropriate hand protection when employee’s hands are
exposed to hazards such as those from:
• Skin absorption of harmful substances;
• Severe cuts or lacerations;
• Severe abrasions
• Punctures;
• Chemical burns;
• Thermal burns; and
• Harmful temperature extremes
b) Selection: Employers shall base selection of the appropriate hand
protection on an evaluation of the performance characteristics of the
hand protection relative to the task(s) to be performed, conditions
present, and the hazards and potential hazards identified.
The purpose of this provision is to assure that employees are using the
appropriate type of gloves for the tasks to be performed. For example,
foundry workers generally must wear gloves that provide thermal
protection, while meat cutters must wear gloves that protect against
cuts. While the selection of the appropriate type of glove for a certain
task or hazard may seem to be obvious, OSHA’s rule making record
indicates that many hand injuries have occurred because the wrong
type of glove was used for a certain task.
Hazard AssessmentIt is vitally important to properly assess the hazards of the task or job.
The principles of proper hazard assessment are:
1. Identify the hazards in the workplace,
2. Attempt to engineer the hazards out of the task or job,
3. Evaluate the proper PPE to be used by the employee, and
4. Train the employee in the proper use and care of PPE.
SA FETY EYEW EAR
I. Overview: Reports vary depending on the source but an estimated 1,000 to
2,000 eye injuries occur in American workplaces on a daily basis. Of the total
number of work related injuries, 10-20% result in temporary or permanent vision
loss. The financial cost of these injuries is enormous—more than $300 million per
year in lost production time, medical expenses, and workers compensation.
Some estimates range as high as $937 million annually. No dollar figure can
adequately reflect the personal toll these accidents take on the injured workers.
What contributes to eye injuries at work?
--Not wearing eye protection. Reports indicate that nearly three out of every five
workers injured were not wearing eye protection at the time of the accident.
--Wearing the wrong kind of eye protection for the job. About 40% of the injured
workers were wearing some form of eye protection when the accident occurred.
These workers were most likely to be wearing protective eyeglasses with no side
shields, though injuries among employees wearing full-cup or flat-fold side
shields occurred, as well.
What causes eye injuries?
-
Flying Particles (Grinding dust, nails, pieces of wire, concrete, and many
more)
Falling or shifting debris, building materials, and glass
Chemical splash. (Acids, bases, fuels, solvents, lime, wet or dry cement
powder…)
Liquids or gases under pressure (spray cans are an increasing source of
chemical eye injury that is compounded by pressure. Whether containing
caustics or irritants, spray cans must be carefully used.)
Bloodborne pathogens (hepatitis or HIV) from blood, bodily fluids, and
human remains.
Welding fumes
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-
Harmful radiation
Any combination of these or various other hazards
Where do accidents occur most often?
--Craft work; industrial equipment operation. Potential eye hazards can be
found in nearly every industry, but reports indicate that more than 40% of
injuries occurred among craft workers, like mechanics, repairers, carpenters, and
plumbers. Over a third of the injured workers were operatives, such as
assemblers, sanders, and grinding machine operators. Laborers suffered about
one-fifth of the eye injuries. Almost half the injured workers were employed in
manufacturing; slightly more than 20% were in construction. Keep in mind that
it is not always the operator that incurs the eye injury. In many cases, the fellow
employees suffer eye injuries from particles flying from the machinery/tools
being used.
How can eye injuries be prevented?
--Always wear effective eye protection. OSHA standards require that employers
provide workers with suitable eye protection. To be effective, the eyewear must
be of the appropriate type for the hazard encountered and properly fitted. For
example, surveys show that 94% of the injuries to workers wearing eye
protection resulted from objects or chemicals going around or under the
protector. Eye protective devices should allow for air to circulate between the
eye and the lens. Only 13 workers injured while wearing eye protection reported
breakage.
--Better training and education. Most often workers are hurt while doing their
regular jobs. Workers injured while not wearing protective eyewear most often
said they believed it was not required by the situation. Even though the vast
majority of employers furnished eye protection at no cost to employees, about
40% of the workers received no information on where and what kind of eyewear
should be used.
What type of safety eyewear is available?
-Non prescription safety glasses. Safety glasses with side protection provide
minimum protection and are for general working conditions where there may be
minor dust, chips or flying particles. Side protection includes side shields and
wraparound-style safety glasses.
Polycarbonate lenses are lightweight and provide the best impact protection, but
generally are not as scratch-resistant as glass unless treated with a hard coating.
Anti-fog coatings can be helpful in higher humidity environments.
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OSHA's eye and face protection standard, 29 CFR 1910.133, requires that eye and
face protection be American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z87.1-certified.
ANSI Z87.1 compliant glasses are marked on the lens or frame.
-Prescription safety glasses. Workers who wear non-safety prescription glasses
should wear tight-fitting goggles over the glasses, over the glass safety glasses or
specialty safety glasses with RX inserts. Because contact lenses may present a
significant corneal abrasion risk when working in dusty areas, contact lens
wearers should wear un-vented goggles.
-Goggles. Goggles provide higher impact, dust and chemical splash protection
than safety glasses. Goggles for splash or fine dust protection should have
indirect venting. Use direct-vented goggles for less fogging when working with
large particles. Safety goggles designed similar to ski-type goggles have high air
flow to minimize fogging while providing better particle and splash protection
than standard glasses.
Safety glass users should graduate to goggles when there is more than occasional
particle hazards, such as when cutting wood. The choice, in many cases, comes
down to the assessment of the severity of the hazard.
-Hybrid safety glasses or goggles. Safety glasses with foam or rubber around the
lenses provide better protection from dust and flying particles than conventional
safety glasses. Wraparound safety glasses that convert to goggles with a soft
plastic or rubber face seal may offer better peripheral vision than conventional
goggles. It is important to avoid hybrids or wraparounds when more impact
protection is needed than safety glasses provide. In those cases, use goggles.
-Face shields. When protecting the eyes, don't forget to guard against injuries to
the face. For highest impact protection, face shields protect the full face from
spraying, chipping, grinding and critical chemicals or bloodborne hazards.
Never wear face shields, which provide secondary protection, without primary
eye protection (safety glasses or goggles). Wear safety glasses or goggles under
face shields to provide protection when the shield is lifted. Primary protection
helps prevent particles that get under the shield from lodging in the eyes.
-Specialty Protection. Use other types of protection, such as filtered helmets or
goggles, for tasks such as welding or working with lasers. Lenses for welding
light protection must be marked with an appropriate "shade number" for the
task. Remember to protect the eyes even when the helmet is lifted. Welder's
helpers, other workers and bystanders should have welding light protection
when near torch cutting or welding. Use ANSI Z136-certified eye protection for
laser light hazards.
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-Full face respirators. While full-face respirators provide the best general dust,
chemical and smoke protection, they will not necessarily be Z87.1-compliant for
impact protection, or seal properly over glasses. Use prescription inserts
compatible with a respirator. Respirators should be professionally fitted.
II. Materials:
1. Lens Material:
a. Glassi. Are not easily scratched.
ii. Can be used around harsh chemicals
iii. Can be made into corrective prescriptions
iv. Are sometimes heavy and uncomfortable
b. Plastici. Are lighter weight than glass
ii. Protect welding splatter
iii. Are not likely to fog even uncoated
iv. Are not as scratch resistant as glass
c. Polycarbonatei. Are extremely lightweight
ii. Protect against welding splatter
iii. Are not likely to fog
iv. Are stronger than glass and plastic
v. Are more impact resistant than glass and plastic
vi. Are not as scratch resistant as glass
III. UV Protection:
What is Ultraviole t Light?
Light energy travels through space in the form of waves, with different types of
light having different wave lengths. Ultraviolet light rays, the damaging
component in sunlight, are so short that they aren't part of the visible light
spectrum.
How damaging is Ultraviolet Light?
In the last few years people have become much more aware that ultraviolet light
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from the sun can cause injury to the skin. Less well known is that those same
ultraviolet rays can cause eye problems. A lifetime of exposure to sunlight can
cause corneal, lens, and retinal damage.
Direct sunlight is most intense in the summer months, between 11 a.m. and 3
p.m. (daylight saving time). Ultraviolet radiation is also greater at high altitudes
and closer to the equator. Snow, sand and open water all readily reflect these
rays, as do the glass and concrete on buildings. This can result in increased
exposure of the eyes and face, causing damage in less time. Artificial sources,
such as welding arcs and sunlamps, have caused damage to the eyes and skin.
Do safety glasse s offer good protection?
Standards for safety glasses have improved dramatically over the last few years,
and today most safety eyewear is effective at screening or reflecting ultraviolet
light. Look for stickers that say the lenses provide a minimum of 90 percent
protection from UV A and 95 percent from UV B light. Lenses tinted dark grey or
dark green offer the best results. Please know that all Kimberly-Clark V-Series
eyewear provide 99.9% UVA/UVB protection.
The most important consideration when buying safety eyewear is how well they
cover the eye: large-size lenses, glasses that fit snugly, and a wrap-around design
all help reduce damaging rays that can easily leak in around the edges of
inappropriate or poor-fitting sunglasses.
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IV. Fit:
- Overview: Safety glasses should rest firmly on top of the nose and close to, but
not against, the face. The nose piece should not slide down the face due to sweat
or moisture. If the glass slides down even a small amount, the user will lose some
protection.
Safety glasses should have a three-point fit, meaning the frame should touch the
face in three places - at the nose bridge and behind each ear. Temples should
wrap around the head, with slight pressure behind the ear, not above the ear.
V. Safety Eyewear Features:
1.
Lens colors: Kimberly-Clark provides an extensive selection of lens
colors to accommodate most applications. Listed below are the lens colors
offered by Kimberly-Clark accompanied by a brief description.
a.
Clear- Allows maximum visible light transmission.
Primarily used for indoor applications where impact protection is
required.
b.
Clear Anti-Fog- An additional anti-fog coating is added to
the clear lens to prevent glass fogging in high humidity
environments where sudden shifts in temperature occur.
c.
Smoke- Worn on bright, sunny days, these lenses provide
maximum glare reduction and are ideal for applications where eye
strain is a major factor. They show objects true to natural color and
flatten light to maintain normal depth perception.
d.
Indoor/Outdoor- this light tint coating is a comfortable
solution for moving from indoor or shaded locations to direct
sunlight and back. I/O diminishes glare to ease the eye’s
adjustment from inside to outside applications, reducing eye strain.
e.
Amber- Light gathering properties make this lens ideal for
low light environments in which contrast is low; highlights and
defines by blocking out much of the blue light.
f.
Silver Mirror- These dark tinted lenses with a reflective
coating are great for outdoor applications where very bright
sunlight and glare cause eye strain and fatigue.
2.
Nosepieces: There are many styles of nosepieces that provide different
levels of comfort and some that prevent slippage.
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a.
Integrated Polycarbonate nosepiece are designed into the
lens mold. They provide no grip and are made out of
polycarbonate material.
b.
PVC- Good value
c.
Self Adjusting Fingers- Silicone or PVC nosepiece that can be
moved in and out to adjust nose piece width. Enhances omfortable
fit.
3.
4.
Templesa.
Fixed
b.
Fixed with Rubber temple.
c.
Rubber Tipped Bayonet (straight back) Style
d.
Ratcheting Temple-
Framea.
Polycarbonate
b.
ABS
c.
Dual Molded with cushioning
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Potential Consequences of Glove Powder
Allergic Reactions (continued)
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